(subject to change)

Master's Degree

• The master's degree program places equal emphasis on advanced course work and on research. A research project and thesis are required of all candidates in order to provide each student with the opportunity for growth and with maturity in independent professional activity.
  
  
• The Graduate Division requires completion of 20 semester units. At least 14 units must be in letter-graded courses, which must include a minimum of 9 units in graduate level (200 series) chemical engineering courses; the remaining units may be chosen from the wide variety of courses available in the science, engineering, and business departments of the campus. Unit credit is also given for graduate research, department seminars, and special studies.
  
  
• The specific courses taken in the master's program are selected in consultations between students and the academic adviser. Students are encouraged to broaden their knowledge and to pursue particular specialized interests through their choices of courses.
  
  
• Selection of a research topic is made early in the first semester after students have discussed prospective research projects with faculty members whose research is of special interest to them. The average time in residence is 28 months.

Doctor of Philosophy Degree

• The Ph.D. program is designed to enlarge the body of knowledge of the student and, more importantly, to discover and develop talent for original, productive, and creative work in chemical engineering.
  
  
• Breadth of knowledge and professional training are achieved through advanced course work. The course requirement is 30 letter-graded semester units. Twelve units derive from a required core of 4 chemical engineering courses in the areas of mathematics, thermodynamics, reaction engineering, and transport phenomena. An additional 9 unit sequence in an outside specialty is required, and 9 additional units must be taken from departmental graduate electives. In addition to these 30 units, the department recognizes that practicing chemical engineers draw increasingly on information from other disciplines. Students are strongly encouraged to pursue additional courses of specific relevance to their thesis research and to explore other areas of technical, professional, or personal interest.
  
  
• To develop the creative talents of the student, a paramount emphasis in the Ph.D. program is placed on intensive research, a project on which students work closely with one or more members of the faculty. Students are expected to consult extensively with faculty members to choose the research project early in their first semester. Students begin their research at that time.
  
  
• Two departmental examinations are required in the course of the degree. The first, an oral preliminary examination, is held at the beginning of the second semester to ensure adequate knowledge of fundamental graduate and undergraduate course material. The results of this examination, performance in course work, and a statement from the students' research director are used by a committee of the faculty to evaluate the students' progress toward the Ph.D.
  
  
• The second examination, the oral qualifying examination taken at the beginning of the fifth semester in residence, consists of a written technical manuscript and a formal presentation of students' research, including review of the most relevant literature, research accomplishments to date, and a future plan. Students spend most of their time after passing the examinations on their dissertation research projects.
  
• The department requires that each doctoral candidate assist in the instructional program of the department as a teaching assistant for two semesters. The faculty regard teaching experience as highly valuable for all graduate students, especially those who plan to teach as a career.
  
  
• Completion of the Ph.D. occurs with the filing of the student's dissertation. Time for completion of the degree is on average slightly more than five years.

Course Catalog